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Partner visa entry date?

2K views 9 replies 2 participants last post by  mel07green 
#1 ·
Hello all

I'm an Australian citizen and have been been married to my American husband for eight years. We were married in the US and have lived here since. I think out case is relatively straightforward, but bringing it all together is a daunting task. Deja vu all over again, from my application for a green card.

Anyway my pressing question at this point is timing. We're not ready to move to Oz right away. It is my understanding that from the time of approval, you have to enter by a certain date (somewhat arbitrarily?) assigned to you. Does this move have to be permanent? Or can it just be a vacation?

In other words, would we be creating more problems than we're solving by applying in advance? Should we be waiting till we're ready to move permanently?

Thanks in advance.
Mel
 
#2 ·
You can just fly in, validate your visa, and fly back out, BUT I believe in order to then apply for permanent residency two years in, you'd need to have been "ordinarily resident" in Australia during those two years, meaning you haven't spent more than a set amount of time out of the country each year.

If you're planning on moving a year from now, it's probably fine to apply now. But if you're planning on moving two or three years from now, I don't think I'd apply yet.

One caveat: This is not a question we get asked all that often here, so you might want to do your own research (forum searches, reading up on the DIAC website or a consult with a migration agent) to make sure I'm correct that you'd need to be "ordinarily resident." I think I'm correct, but you never know.. :)
 
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#3 ·
Thanks, CollegeGirl

We definitely aren't planning on moving permanently for at least three years. My husband just thought it would be a good idea to have it in hand, in case we change our minds or, most significantly, my mother becomes ill.

If that's not how it works, then I guess we'll have to wait until we commit to a time frame.

The DIAC website doesn't seem to address this question specifically. I'll have a good search of the forum.

Thanks :)
 
#4 ·
Waiiiit a second, what am I talking about? :p You'd likely be given PR right away after being married for that long. DUH. Haha. Man, I need more coffee today. :) So you can apply whenever you want and you'll likely get PR and just have to validate it by flying in. Then you can leave and return whenever you like over the next five years. As long as you're in Australia when those five years are up, you can stay indefinitely. However, if, when those five years are up, you want to leave the country again for even a quick holiday, you'll have to apply for a Resident Return Visa, and you will (at that point) have to have been in Australia for at least 2 years out of the last five (those years don't have to be consecutive). At least, that's my understanding. You can read more here: Resident Return Visas (Subclasses 155 and 157)
 
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#5 ·
In other words, it's not as simple as getting your visa granted (even a PR granted) and going as coming whenever you like. If you want that kind of freedom, you have to be a citizen. Probably better to hold off, but of course... I'm not a migration agent. :)
 
#6 ·
Well a PR visa straight off the bat would certainly change things, but it still sounds like it may be best to wait.

I can't tell you how much I'm dreading this process after all I had to go through with MY residency application for the US. I was hoping his application would be more straightforward, since we've been married so long and our lives are ridiculously entwined. But it looks to be about the same level of rigmarole :rolleyes:

The main thing, as I said, is if my elderly mother becomes ill. I'd have to go stay with her as she has no-one else, really. And I'd hate that kind of protracted separation from my husband.

I tried calling the embassy in Canada, but they were dismissive if not downright hostile about answering specific questions.

Mel











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#7 ·
Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that, Mel. You guys are in a tough spot. :(

You could always look into getting your mother a visa for herself if you all are living in AU when she becomes ill... some of the parent visas take a ridiculous amount of time to get granted (one of them is 15 YEARS!) but if you can get her onshore with you and apply onshore you could at least be all together. Just something to look into maybe while you're planning... You can try out DIAC's visa wizard and see which visas you might be able to bring her over with.
 
#8 ·
CollegeGirl, it's the other way around. I'm Australian and my mum's in Sydney. My husband's the one applying for the spouse visa. Being with my mum is a reason we're planning on moving back in a few years. Having the visa in hand ASAP would allow us both to bring our plans forward, should she fall ill.

Still, your point stands - we're in a tough spot. International relationships'll do that ;)
 
#9 ·
Ohhhh, sorry about that. Misread. :)
 
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